The Carnival of Animals is a piece of fun, a parody, a genial satire, and has, or had, implications hidden in the music. For a long time Saint-Saens would not allow it all to be published, though he released from the Suite for general use that graceful, charming little piece, The Swan. Many of the numbers are supposed to reflect the idiosyncrasies of some of his friends and associates, others to burlesque musical conventions. The whole suite is the jolly kind of music that one would expect from little sound 'pictures of birds, animals, domestic fowl, and 'pianists'.